Chuck Versus the Cougars
|next= }} Chuck Versus the Cougars is the fourth episode in season two, which aired on October 20, 2008. It is the seventeenth episode overall. Synopsis The team gets a mission to Sarah's high school reunion when the husband of cheerleader and nemesis, Heather Chandler (Nicole Richie), is involved with the Russian mob. Sarah does her best to avoid her past life, whereas Chuck does his best to get to know her past. Meanwhile, Big Mike leaves town for a day as new Assistant Manager Lester Patel implements a new sales policy. Full Plot A flashback shows a young Sarah Walker, whose alias at the time was Jenny Burton, returning home to find her father being arrested by the ATF. She runs to a tree, where her father had buried a bag full of cash, in case of emergencies. In the present, Sarah notices an old schoolmate Heather Chandler in the Buy More. She hides Chuck in Castle, ordering him not to leave or touch anything. However, Chuck cannot resist admiring the advanced DU-97 computer he is near. He accesses it, learning of the many cameras around his home and the Buy More before finally spying on Sarah, who was trying to dodge questions about her identity to Heather before learning that her real name is "Jenny Burton". Hostility rises between the two when Chuck wants to find out more about Sarah's past, but she wants to keep it a secret. Sarah is also forced to relive a painful past, when she was a homely high school student teased and bullied by the other kids. Chuck flashed on Heather's geeky husband Mark Ratner, who is an engineer in development of a new F-22 fighter. General Beckman orders both Chuck and Sarah to double date with the Ratners and see what Mark is up to. Sarah objects, stating that her identity has been compromised, though Beckman insists that her previous identity is crucial to the mission. Meanwhile at the Buy More, Big Mike is ready for his fishing trip, leaving Lester in charge. This gives Lester the opportunity to implement a new sales policy at the Buy More, to give out free products. However, Chuck can guess that this will end badly, which Morgan agrees, mostly to see the fun in it. Later, Chuck arrives at Sarah's apartment for a mission debrief. However, she makes it clear that she doesn't like questions about her past and throws his pencil at a portrait of themselves, cracking the frame's glass, intimidating Chuck into submission. At the restaurant the two couples are at, Chuck tries digging up on Sarah's past, only for her to "accidentally" spill wine on him. He goes to the washroom to clean up, only to come in on Mark being threatened by two members of a Russian mafia, whom he flashes on. The Russians get suspicious and try to ruff him up to make him talk, while Mark was locked in a washroom stall. Luckily, Casey, disguised as a waiter, arrives and knocks them out. As he goes out the door, Mark peeks out and notices the unconscious Russians and presumes Chuck did it. Chuck tries passing off the action as martial arts he learned at a community center, but accidentally lets slip that the men were mafia, making Mark think that Chuck is CIA. Deciding to play the part, Chuck passes himself off as Charles Carmichael. The next day, Mark is covertly to Castle, where Casey attempts to interrogate Mark, promising witness protection in exchange for the location of the next meet. However, Mark asks to speak only with Chuck, thinking of him as Carmichael. After a bit of fibbing that Chuck is nicknamed Mad Dog, Mark cracks that the mafia threatened him and his wife and only texts him. He just then receives a text for another meeting tomorrow night, which is right on the night of the high school reunion. Chuck returns to the Buy More to find Lester freaking out in Big Mike's office. He goes in to asks him what's wrong. Apparently, out of the merchandise they sold, they failed expected cash demands to pay for the items. Morgan then asks the staff for ideas on how to obtain $3,600 within one night. Jeff suggests burning the store down for the insurance. However, Chuck unintentionally suggests throwing a keg party, to which everyone agrees to. At Sarah's apartment, she is busy blowing off steam at her punching bag. A flashback shows her high school life after her father's arrest. The school bully Dick Duffy, after stuffing a younger Mark into a locker, offers to be the "man around the house" for her. At the end of the flashback, she stops her practice when Chuck rings the door, having brought a beautiful dress for her reunion. However, Sarah is reluctant to go, as high school was a tough time for her. Nonetheless, Chuck is able to convince her to go. Upon arrival at James Buchanan High, Chuck flashes on an old school bully, Dick Duffy's tattoo, who he presumes to be Mark's contact; Mark himself finds it obvious. Sarah promises to alert the DJ, who happens to be Casey. When Sarah meets Dick and knocks him out for attempting to flirt with her, she and Casey find that he's actually a small time crook, only selling Ganja. The real bad guys have just arrived and are alerted by Heather, who is really working with the mafia, about Chuck being a spy, having overheard a conversation between him and Mark. Upon seeing the Russians, Chuck urges Mark to run, while he subtly points out the two men to Sarah and Casey with the spotlight. Sarah notices Heather leaving the gym and follows. She soon enough fights Heather, learning that she is selling out her husband for money; she never really loved Mark. Sarah eventually is able to defeat her by knocking a cougar statue on her head. Meanwhile, Casey stops the Russians from killing Mark; Mark thought Chuck saved him once again. Afterwards, Sarah is crowned reunion queen. Back at the Buy More, the party goes out of control, especially with Mike's marlin being broken. Lester tries calling off the party but the guests refuse to leave. After they do leave, the Buy More employees quickly clean up the mess before Big Mike returned. Morgan barely patches up the marlin. In between the marlin cracking and Big Mike congratulating him, Lester decides to resign as assistant manager. He then leaves before the nose fell off. Meanwhile, Chuck is enjoying a fine lunch with Sarah. In the midst of their conversation, Chuck can only wonder what turned Sarah around in high school. Another flashback shows that after Jenny found her father's stash of cash, she is surprised by the appearance of Langston Graham, who she attempts to throw a knife at only to miss. Graham admires her throw and lists out her various aliases, revealing that Jenny Burton is only one of her many aliases. Jenny asks him to get to the point when he tries saying her birth name. Graham explains to her that her father failed in scamming a couple of dangerous people. He saved his life by putting him in jail. He offers to help save her too. Jenny presumes that he wants to arrest her. However, Graham is really offering to recruit her into the CIA under the new: Sarah Walker. Guest Stars * Bonita Friedericy as General Diane Beckman * Nicole Richie as Heather Chandler * Tony Todd as Director Langston Graham (in flashbacks) * Ben Savage as Mark Ratner * Michael Weaver as Dick Duffy Trivia * Near the end of the episode, Chuck offers to share a cheeseburger with Sarah, her elbow is resting on her bare knee. However, in the next shot, she pulls up her pantleg to reveal some hidden knives, which means her knee couldn't have been bare before. * The "Cougars" referred to in the episode's title are the name of the high school team. * Heather Chandler's name is a nod to the 1988 cult-classic film Heathers. Heather Chandler is the name of the leader of the Heathers, the clique of popular mean girls. * The line: "Of all the semi-tart, Asian-influenced frozen yogurt shops in all the towns in all the world, you walked into hers?" is an allusion to the line: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine" from Casablanca (1942). * When Mark receives the text from the mafia while being interrogated in Castle he's holding his phone upside down. * During the clean-up scene at the Buy More one of the people helping is using a Mighty Jocks uniform. Quotes Sarah: General, I apologize, but I'm afraid I must recuse myself from this mission. My cover has been compromised. General Diane Beckman: Agent Walker, you have pre-existing social history with target. Seems to me you have the perfect cover. Sarah: But it's not a cover ma'am, it's... me. General Diane Beckman: Well I hope *you* enjoy Italian food. Bon Appetite. Music * "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba * “Shop Till You Drop” by Billy Martin * “Open Late Weekends” by Daniel May(music seems to be unfindable) * “Everybody” by Backstreet Boys * “Beautiful Disaster” by 311 * “MmmBop” by Hanson * “Smack My Bitch Up” by The Prodigy * “I Don’t Want To Wait” by Paula Cole Category:Season 2 Television Series Episodes